Railway track broom



Och 13, 1970 J. K. KERsHAw 3,533,121

RAILWAY TRACK BROOM Filed March 13, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 r\ pf N N Nl.I N vbfx O rm l0 v E m m Il nn I o N o 1;1.. w i 'D N o n w Fig. 2

ATTOR N EYS oct. 13 1970 J. K. KERSHAW 3,533,121

RAILWAY TRACK BROOM Filed March 15, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 37 INVENTORJOHN KNOX KERSHAW ATTORNEYS -OctQ 13, 1970 J. K. ,KERYSHAW y 3,533,121

A RAILWAY TRACK BROOM Filed March 13;' 196e f 3 sheets-Sheet e H8 IIOINVENTOR f/ JOHN KNOXKERSH'AW ATTORNEYS 3,533,121 RAILWAY TRACK BROOM.lohn Knox Kershaw, Southport, Ind., assignor, by mesne asignments, toThe Marmon Group, Inc., Chicago, Ill.,

a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 13, 1968, Ser. No. 712,832 Int. Cl.Etllh 8/00 U.S. Cl. -55 17 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Railwayroadbed ballast distributing and dressing apparatus, particularly atrack broom machine which is carried or driven along the track. Themachine supports a broom rotatable on a horizontal axis transverse ofthe track and operable in either direction to sweep forward, and ofsufficient length to sweep the entire tie-length width of the ballastface. The broom has spaced bristle elements made of bundles ofspring-steel splines fixed in removable couplings and encased inbend-distributing sleeves. Banks of deflector plates ahead of and behindthe broom deflect laterally the ballast swept forward by the broom, andthe distance of lateral movement is increased by spacing the plates froma fixed rear wall. The plates are adjustable in groups, to deflectinward or outward, and may be sloped to deflect with an upwardcomponent. The broom is desirably held at an elevation to lightly sweepthe tie faces. The long deflection transfer and lightly-sweeping specialbristles combine to produce rapid progress with limited brush loadingand to give manyfold increased broom life.

CROSS REFERENCES Certain subject matter disclosed herein is claimed incopending applications; the head block assembly in my application Ser.No. 718,560 filed Apr. 3, 1968; the plow in my application Ser. No.750,101 filed Aug. 5, 1968; side wing structure in my application Ser.No. 705,421 filed Feb. 14, 1968; and a broom bristle in the applicationof myself and Edwin S. Pearce Ser. No. 745,772 filed July 18, 1968.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to railway roadbedballast distributing and dressing apparatus required both forconstruction and maintenance, particularly to a roadbed or track broomfor dressing the surface of the ties and ballast bed between and alongthe sides of the rails, and for leveling and distributing ballast oversuch bed.

The present invention is part of an overall development of a universaltrack machine which will be highly effective as a roadbed maintenancemachine and also highly mobile for travel over the roads; which willcarry several interrelated roadbed working and maintenance implementsand provide for operating such equipment on the rails and fortransporting the equipment on the roads between work sites and onto andoff the railway at work sites. The basic prime-mover is a self-propelledvehicle of sturdy and powerful construction having four or morepneumatictired wheels for road travel, at least two of which aresteerable, and at least four of which are powered from a heavy tractionengine. Retractable rail wheels guide the road wheels for traction onthe rails and are hydraulically adjustable to Vary the loading betweenthe two sets of wheels. All work equipment is adjusted hydraulically bycontrols located for operation by a single operator in a cab from whichthe vehicle is driven on the highway and operated on the rails.Implements used with the primemover may include a ballast distributingplow at the front, side wings for working ballast banks, and a reartrack s ited States Patent broom. The present invention is particularlyconcerned with the track broom.

Road bed ballast comprises a thick layer of crushed limestone or similarmaterial resting on a prepared base, and supports the cross ties onwhich the track rails are laid. The ballast bed is shaped to have agenerally horizontal top face over the lengths of the ties, that is,between the rails themselves and alongside the rails in the area of theprojecting ends of the ties, and to have sloped banks at and beyond theends of the ties. Desirably, the top surface of the ballast is levelwith or slightly below the top faces of the ties, and the ties and railsshould be free of loose ballast.

The ballast bed is subjected to deterioration and requires periodicmaintenance. It should be kept clear of weed growth and otheraccumulations which promote deterioration. Both in maintenance and inthe original construction of the road bed, new ballast is added. This isdumped onto the road bed from cars, and must be spread. While it can beroughly distributed by a blade device such as a plow or mold board, itis not possible with such a blade device to produce the desired finishcondition in which the ballast is level with or slightly below the topsof the ties and in which the surface is free of loose ballast. A brushor broom type implement can produce the desired ballast distribution andsurface condition.

In producing the desired ballast surface, after rough distribution witha plow, it is necessary to transfer ballast from one portion of theballast bed to another, for example from between the rails to outsidethe rails, or from outside to between the rails or even from one side tothe other. A roadbed broom is also useful to sweep the roadbed, to keepdown growth of weeds and accumulation of materials which will causedeterioration of the ties or ballast. Such sweeping and ballast transferimposes high work loads on broom devices and have heretofore made themimpractical for handling ballast.

'Ihe present invention provides a track broom machine which willeffectively produce a properly leveled and dressed ballast surface,which will operate to transfer ballast from one portion of the ballastbed to another with a high degree of flexibility and effectiveness,which will thereby prevent excess accumulation of ballast in the path ofthe broom and which will have a sufficiently long life to be practical.

A track broom in accordance with the invention may be operated along thetrack by any suitable vehicle, but I prefer to use the universal trackmachine described above, both because it is effective for the purposeand because the track broom is adapted to cooperate with the otherballast implements carried by such machine.

In accordance with the invention, the track broom implement comprises anelongated frame which in operation extends transversely across thetrack. This carries a rotary broom element journalled for rotation on atransverse horizontal axis, and of a length sufficient to sweep theentire top surface of the ballast bed over the full length of the ties.The broom is driven by a suitable motor, preferably a hydraulic motorsupplied with hydraulic fluid from a pump on the prime mover. The motorand broom are rotatable in either direction, for operation when theprime mover is moving either forward or rearward along the track. Thebroom rotates in a direction to sweep ballast forward in the directionof movement of the implement, and exerts sufficient force to throw looseballast forward.

In the path of such forwardly-thrown ballast, the frame carries atransverse series of baffles which deflect the ballast laterally. Such aseries of baffles is disposed both forward and rearward of thetransverse broom, to permit forward and reanward operation. Peferablyeach bank of baffles is divided into two halves or sections, and theballles of each section are jointly adjustable to deflect ballast eitherinward or outward. The two sections of each bank may be adjusted todeflect all the ballast to the right or all the ballast to the left orto dellect it either from the center outward or from outside inward.

Preferably ,the ballles are enclosed in a housing having a back wallspaced from the back edges of the batlles to provide open clearancethrough which ballast which is dellected by one baille may pass betweenthe wall and the next adjacent baille. Such wall will further dellectballast along its surface, and the ballast can be moved laterally agreater distance than the distance between the baflles.

In practice, the broom and balllfes may operate repeatedly on the sameballast. `If a lilrst operation does not move the ballast laterally asufllcient distance to clear the path of the broom, such ballast willfall in front of the broom and will be swept fonward again intodeflecting engagement with the battles, and this operation may berepeated successively until the ballast falls into a low spot in theroadbed to lill it or until the ballast is moved laterally from the topsurface of the roadbed and out of the path of the broom. Accordingly,the more the ballast is moved laterally on each pass, the fewer thepasses which will be required and the greater the speed and progresswhich will be produced without exceeding satisfactory loading limits ofthe broom.

For satisfactory operating life, the broom is provided with bristleelements of controlled llexibility and the degree of bristle flexing isregulated by controlling the height of the broom relative to the levelof the tie surfaces. For best results, the broom should positively butbarely sweep the top tie surfaces.

The broom implement is desirably carried by a vertically adjustable headblock on the prime mover, by which it can be raised and lowered asnecessary to clear the rails. This will permit passage over railportions which are not to be brushed and lwill permit ready movement ofthe prime mover onto and 01T the railway.

The head block will also lower the broom device to working position. Inthe prime mover shown, the head block is directly connected to a pair ofrail wheels which can accurately fix the height of the head block abovethe wheels; and this relationship is desirably used to accuratelydetermine the height of the broom device relative to the rails and theirsupporting ties and bed. For this purpose, the head block carries anadjustable stop which limits lowering movement of the broom device andhence supports such device at an adjustably fixed elevation.

Because of the considerable transverse length of the broom implement,corresponding to the width of the ballast bed, it is too widetransversely of the prime mover to be moved over the roads withoutspecial permit. Accordingly, the broom implement is desirably removablefrom the head block on the prime-mover, and is provided with fittings atone end to receive a wheeled dolly and at the other end to receive atrailer tongue. With the dolly and the tongue in place, the broomimplement may then be drawn as a trailer lengthwise behind theprime-moved, and in s uch position it is well within the permissiblelimits for normal road travel.

THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In suchdrawings:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic side elevation of a universal trackmachine equipped with a track broom embodying the present invention,with such broom mounted in operative transverse position on a head blockon the prime mover;

FIG. 2 is a similar side elevation of the machine shown in FIG. 1 withits implements disposed in road-travel position;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view,l showing the broom implement ofFIGS. l and 2 in plan with the top frame and cover portion removed;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view ta'ken on the line `4 4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a section on the line 5 5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. `6 is a section on the line 6-6 of FIG, 5;

FIG. 7 is an axial section through a bristle element of my improvedbroom;

FIG. 8 is a partial plan view of a bank of modified baflles, showing abaille arrangement in which the ballles are inclined to dellect ballastwith an upward component; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view' on the line 9-9 of FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE IPREFERRED EMBODIMENT The prime mover 10 shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 is for operation either on a road (FIG. 2) or on rails 4of a standard railroad track (FIG. 1). As is known, the rails aresupported on ties 6 laid in a porous ballast bed 8 supported on a baseso formed that water will drain from such bed.

The prime mover l() comprises a frame 12 mounted by springs on the axlesof front drive wheels 14 and rear drive wheels 16, and includes acontrol cab 118 at its forward end and an engine compartment at therear. The cab 1-8 contains a seat for the operator, a steering wheel andother controls for the vehicle, and hydraulic controls for the variouswork elements carried by the prime mover. The engine compartment 20`contains an engine 215 which drives an oil pump and is connected througha transmission and clutch assembly to drive shafts 28 and '29 for thefront and rear road wheels. The latter spacing or tread of such wheels 14 and 16 is equivalent to that of the rails, so that such wheels willride on such rails.

:Each end of the prime mover carries a head block assembly 30 which hasone pair of hydraulic cylinders (not shown) for raising and lowering arail wheel carrier 31 mounted on the axle of a pair of rail wheels 3-2coplanar with the adjacent road wheels 14 and 16. Such rail wheels 32when lowered engage the rails 4 and serve to guide the drive wheels onthe track and to transmit directly to the rails a selected proportion ofthe weight of the prime mover 10 and its ballast yworking equipment.

Each head block 30 also includes an outer pair of tubular guides 33`which slidably receive the end posts 34 of a mounting frame 315 which israised and lowered by a pair of hydraulic cylinders 316. Each mountingframe 35 has a pair of laterally spaced lower brackets l37 for pivotallyattaching a work element and has a pair of spaced sheaves 38 at itsupper end on which are wound cables to support the work element. A plow40 is mounted on the front head block.

A ballast side-bank working tool or wing 44 is carried at each side ofthe prime mover 10 and arranged for vertical, horizontal and tiltingadjustment in a working position as shown in FIG. 2. For this purpose,the wing 44 is carried at the outer end of a carrier 45 pivotallymounted on a longitudinal axis in brackets 46 on the main frame of theprime mover. A lift cylinder 27 between the carrier and an anchor frameon the prime mover operates to lift the wing to travel position.

A track broom 50 is mounted on the rear head block. Weight of the broomis carried directly by the head block and through such head blocktransmitted directly to the underlying rail wheels 32, so that theelevation or height of the broom is determined in direct relation to theposition of the rail wheels 32 and their supporting rails. To provide anaccurate operating level for the broom, the mounting frame 35 carryingthe broom has stop arms 42 which lower against adjustable stops 43 inbrackets on the lixed guides 33` of the head block.

Movement of loose ballast by a broom can impose severe stress on thebroom, particularly on its bristles. As

has been suggested by the prior art, I constructed a broom in which thebristles were lengths of steel cable encased in sections of heavy-dutyhose, and removably fastened to the broom drum. In experimentaloperation of such a broom, it was found that such steel cable bristleswould last only about two hours and would sweep less than five miles oftrack before requiring replacement. It took two men two full days toreplace the bristles In sum, with such bristles the broom gave less thanone man day of service for each four man days of repair, which waseconomically impractical. A new bristle was then developed as shown inthis application which made the broom capable of prolonged operation. Incomparative tests on a test machine, the new bristle lasted more thantimes as long as the old bristle.

The broom implement 50 comprises a sturdy rectangular frame formed byouter side stringers 52 interconnected at their ends by end members 54.Inner stringers 56 extend between the end members 54 in inwardly spacedrelation with the side stringers 52. Upwardly inclined beams 57 extendfrom the side stringers 52 to a top frame 58. A broom chamber is formedbetween the inner stringers 56 and is closed at the top by an archedcover 60 extending the full length of the frame. A broom mandrel 62 isjournaled at its ends in bearings 64 carried by the end members 54, andthe mandrel shaft 66 at one end carries a multigroove drive pulley 68. Ahydraulic motor 70 is mounted on the top frame 58 and drives a shaft "l2which carries a pulley connected by belts to the mandrel pulley 68.Drive from the motor '70 to the drive shaft 72 may be through areduction gear 74.

The broom mandrel 62 carries a plurality of circumferentially spacedrows of spaced bristle elements, desirably of the construction shown inFIG. 7 and described below. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, there are eightrows each containing 14 bristle elements 76 and 78. The rows arestaggered to sweep substantially the full surface of the underlyingroadbed. As shown in FIG. 3, the bristle elements 78 which overlie therails are short to sweep the top surfaces of the rails, While thebristle elements 76 are longer, to sweep the face of the ties andballast bed. When the machine is in operative position, the bristleelements 76 positively but barely sweep the top surfaces of the ties 6supporting the rails, so that such rails will be cleared of looseballast and the ballast between the rails will be brushed to a depth atleast as low as the surface of the ties.

A bank of bales 80 is mounted at each side of the frame. The spacebetween the side stringers 52 and the inner stringers 56 is closed atthe bottom by a plate 82 which forms the top wall of a dellectorchamber. The nner side of such chamber is open to the broom and itsouter side is closed by an outer wall 84 which extends downward from theside stringers 52 and carries a rubber apron 86 at its lower edge. Theapron extends below the tops of the rails 4 and is cut out to clear suchrails. As spaced points along the frame, the plate 82 is provided withsleeve bearings 88 in each of which is mounted a trunnion 90 whichcarries a depending dellecting blade 80. The upper end of each trunnion90 carries a collar 92 from which a control arm 94 extends outwardparallel to the blade 80.

As shown, each bank contains ten deector blades 80, arranged in twogroups of iive. The control arms 94 for the blades of each group areinterconnected by links 96. One of the collars 92 of each group carriesan actuating arm 95 connected for operation by the piston rod 98 of ahydraulic cylinder 100 fixed to an anchor 102 on the plate 82. Thehydraulic cylinder 100 operates to swivel the plates 80 of its groupbetween opposite deflecting angles, to deflect ballast either inward oroutward as desired. As will be seen in FIG. 5 and in the broken-awayportions of FIG. 3, the back edges of the plates 80 are spaced from theouter wall 84 of the deflector chamber,

and this serves to increase the lateral distance over which the broomimplement moves the ballast on each pass.

The broom mandrel 62- is driven in a direction to sweep loose ballastforward of the direction of implement travel along the railway. Itsforward-sweeping bristles throw loose ballast forward into the baffles80, which deflect such ballast either inward or outward depending upontheir swivelled position. The ballast deflected from each baille travelslaterally and rearward. That which then strikes the outer wall 84 of thedeflector chamber is deflected further to the side. There is thus ageneral low of ballast from the broom to the baffles 80 and from themlaterally through the space between the wall 84 and the rear edges ofthe deector blades 80, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 3.

At the botom of FIG. 3, the two groups of blades 80 are both arranged todeflect ballast from the center outward. Accordingly, if it is assumedthat the implement is traveling with this bank of blades forward (in thefullline arrow direction) the broom will throw loose ballast into theblades and such ballast will be deflected from the center portion of theroadbed outward toward both sides, and thus from between the rails tooutside the rails. At the top of FIG. 3, the deector blades 80 are alldisposed to deect ballast to the right. Accordingly, if it is assumedthat the implement is traveling with this bank forward (in thedotted-line arrow direction) the loose ballast thrown forward by thebroom element will strike the deflector blades 80 of that forward bankand all such ballast will be deflected to the right.

In any one pass of ballast from the broom through the deector blades,the ballast will travel only a limited lateral distance and may fallback to the roadbed in the path of the advancing broom element. It willthen again be swept forward by the broom, will again strike thedeflector blades 80, and will be deflected a further distance. The broomand deflectors may thus operate to shift the loose ballast repeatedly tothe side until it falls into a depression in the roadbed or is deflectedout of the path of the broom. The broom will effectively sweep all looseballast from the faces of the ties 6 and from the ballast bed betweenthe ties, will ll in any low spots to bring the ballast to its properlevel, and will deflect excess ballast one way or another as desired,and leave the ballast face clean and level.

A form of bristle found to have a long operating life in thisballast-sweeping operation is shown in FIG. 7. The broom mandrel 62carries an internally threaded stud 104 at each location of a bristle 76or 78. Each bristle comprises a core 106 formed of a bundle of straightspring steel rods or wires, the upper ends of which are spread and fixedin a block 108 of cast filler such as lead. Such block is seated in acoupling 110 which forms a reduced nipple 112 extending along the core106i. An inner sheath 114 closely surrounding the core 106 is threadedonto or otherwise fixed to the nipple 112, and extends to or close tothe free end of the core 106. An outer sheath 116 surrounds the upperend of the inner sheath 114 and is clamped to the outer surface of thecoupling 110, as by a clamp 118. The coupling 110 may desirably have aflange 120 of hexagonal shape adjacent its upper end to receive aWrench, and its upper end is threaded for reception in the internalthreads of the stud 104.

The number of wires or splines in the core 106 may be varied to obtaindifferent degrees of flexibility or stiffness for the bristle element asa whole. Desirably, the core may comprise from say 80` to 45 springsteel wires of from 12 to 16 gauge. In a preferred bristle, I have used36 wires of 14 gauge spring steel wire. The sheaths 114 and 116 may bemade of heavy duty hose, and serve to distribute the bending stress inthe core 106 away from its point of attachment to the rigid coupling110.

The bristle should Hex sufficiently, when properly positioned withrespect to the ties 6, to sweep the entire upper face of each tie. In apreferred arrangement, I have used a drum mandrel 62 of 6-inch outsidediameter and proportions substantially as shown in FIG. 7, with a totalradius from the center of the mandrel to the end of the core 106 of221/2 inches, and I have operated the broom at an elevation such thatthe end of the core would traverse an arc passing through the uppercorners of the ties 6. Each bristle element, as it passes over thecenter of each tie, will then positively but lightly brush the entireface of the tie.

The bristle elements described have given suicient life to beeconomically satisfactory and feasible. With the arrangement shown I ndI am able to obtain at least one full week of service from a broom, andcan replace all the bristles on such broom within a suiiiciently shorttime to make continuous week-by-week operation practical.

The modilied deflector shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 has deector blades 180`which are tilted at an angle to give an upward component of motion tothe deected ballast. Such plates are mounted in a delector chamberhaving a top wall 182 and a back wall 184. The top wall 182 carries aspaced series of vertical bearing sleeves 188 which receive trunnions190. The upper ends of the trunnions carry swivel arms 194interconnected at their ends by links 196, and one of the trunnions alsocarries an actuating arm 19S connected for swivel operation by thepiston rod 198 of a control cylinder 208. Each trunnion 190 carries atits lower end a plate 202 to which are welded a pair of spaced hingeknuckles 204. Each dellector blade 180 has at its upper end three spacedhinge knuckles 286 which interiit with those of the trunnion and arehinged thereto by a pin 208. Each deflector blade 180' is free to swingabout the hinge pin 208, and is tilted one way or the other by a tiltbar fixed on the plate 182 as the blade is swiveled by the trunnion 180lto its opposite limits of movement.

The group of deector blades 180a at the right in FIGS. 8 and 9 areswiveled clockwise to their limit positions. As they approach such limitpositions, their front edge portions 181 engage the tilt bars 210 andare swung rearward ofthe direction of swivel movement, to bring thedeector blades 18011 to the position shown, in which the lower edge ofeach blade is tilted toward the broom sothat ballast thrown against itby the broom will be deflected with an upward component of movement.

The group of delector blades 180b at the left in FIGS. 8 and 9 are swungcounterclockwise to their limit positions. As they approach suchpositions, their front edge portions 181 strike the oppositely inclinedtilt bars 211 and are swung to the left to the position shown. In suchposition, the plate 180b have their lower edges swung toward the broomso that loose ballast thrown against them will be deected to the leftand with an upward component of movement.

In the relationship shown in FIG. l, the broom implement is too longtransversely of the prime-mover 10 for travel as a normal road vehicle.Accordingly, for road travel a dolly 213 having a pair of road wheels212 is attached to brackets 214 and 216 at one end of the frame of thebroom implement 50, and a'trailer tongue 220 is attached to a tting atthe opposite end of the frame. The latter end desirably carries a pairof caster wheels 124 which may be raised and lowered. An eye at the endof the tongue 220 is received over a trailer hitch 221 on the mountingframe 35 of the rear head block 30, to dispose the broom implement 50 asa trailer behind the prime mover. In this relationship, shown in FIG. 2,the broom implement 50 is drawn lengthwise as a trailer behind theprime-mover 10 for road travel, and in this position it is well withinpermissible road-travel limits.

OPERATION Let it be assumed that the prime mover 10, with its plow 40,its side wings 44, and its broom implement 50 in travel position, moveson the roads to a railway work site. Here, the caster wheels 124 at thetrailer hitch end of the implement 50 are lowered to support theimplement from the ground. The prime mover is then detached from thehitch tongue 220 and the broom implement is then reconnected to theprime mover in operating position as shown in FIG. l, by attaching theclevis brackets 51 on the broom frame to the mounting brackets 37 on thehead block 30 and by attaching the cables from the sheaves 38 to thebrackets 53 at the far side ofthe frame of the broom implement 50. Theimplement is then raised so that it is wholly supported by the primemover, and the dolly 213 and road wheels 212 are removed. The primemover is then maneuvered onto the rails where the rail wheels 32 arelowered for operation of the prime mover as a rail vehicle. The broomimplement 50 is then lowered into operating position as shown in FIG. 4and is moved along the rails in the desired direction.

-It may be assumed that fresh ballast has` been roughly distributed overthe road bed by an implement such as the plow, and requires` furtherdistribution and leveling to produce the desired finished condition.Loose ballast will be present on the ties and at the bases of the rails.As the broom implement 50 is moved along the track, the broom will bepositively driven by the motor 7G` in a direction to sweep ballastforward into the bank of deector blades 88 at the leading side of thetransverse frame. The deector blades will be positioned to deflect theballast in the direction or ydirections desired, either from the centeroutward, from the outside inward, or from one side to the other. Suchoperation will sweep the ties and the face of the ballast bed and thebases of the rails free of loose ballast. As the loose ballast is throwninto the deflector blades 80, it will be deected laterally and throughthe space between such blades and the back wall 84 of the deectorchamber, and will fall back to the ballast bed, where it will fill anylow spots. yIf it remains as excess or loose ballast within the path ofthe broom, it will be swept forward again, and again deected laterally,and this operation will be repeated until the loose ballast has beendeposited outside the path of the broom. The positions of the deflectorblades 8G may be changed at will during the course of operation asconditions require, so that loose ballast can be distributed to fill upall low spots in the ballast bed between the ties and to transfer excessballast laterally for deposit at one or both sides of the ballast bed.

The modification of FIGS. 8 and 9 operates in the same way except thatthe deected ballast leaves the ideflector blades with an upwardcomponent of movement, for travel a greater lateral distance along thewall 184 of the deector chamber before it falls to the roadway.

The broom is effective for finish distribution of loose ballast, asdescribed. The rate of lateral transfer of loose ballast is high, whichreduces the number of times the ballast will be handled before it isdeposited out of the path of the broom, and allows a good rate offorward progress without developing an excess accumulation of ballast inthe path of the broom. The broom also has other uses, for example, forsweeping an established railway roadbed for maintenance and to removeWeed growth.

I claim:

1. A railway roadbed broom device, comprising a frame adapted to bemoved along a railway,

a broom comprising an axial mandrel with radiallyprojecting bristlescarried thereby, mounted for rotation on a horizontal axis transverselyof the rail- Way,

power means to drive the broom in a forward-sweeping direction,

a bank of dellectory blades ahead of the broom in position to receiveloose ballast thrown upward and forward by the broom and to deect suchballast laterally,

a fixed rigid deilecting wall disposed transversely of the railway atthe opposite side of the deilector blades from the broom, spaced 4fromsaid blades and extending over substantially the full height thereof, ina position to be struck by ballast deected by said blades and to furtherdeect the same laterally, the spacing between said wall and said bladesserving to provide passageway for ballast deflected by one blade totravel laterally beyond the next adjacent blade. 2. A railway roadbedbroom device according to claim 1,

in which the blades are both angled to ideect the ballast laterally andinclined in a direction to impart an upward component of motion to theballast. 3. A railway roadbed broom device according to claim 1,

in which at least some of said deector blades are mounted for swivelmovement between oppositely angled positions to deflect the ballast inopposite lateral directions. 4. A railway roadbed broom device accordingto claim 3,

in which said bank of deilector blades includes two groups of swivelmounted blades, and means for swivelling the blades of each groupindependently of the blades of the other group. 5. A railway roadbedbroom device according to claim 3,

in which said broom and bank of blades extend transversely from betweenthe rails of the railway, across at least one of the rails to outsidesuch rail, said bank of deector blades having angled positions todeflect ballast either from between the rails to outside the rails orvice versa.

6. A railway roadbed broom device according to claim 3,

in which said broom and bank of blades extend transversely across theroadbed beyond both sides of the track, and said bank of deflectorblades includes two groups of swivel-mounted blades, respectively onopposite sides of the centerline of the track, and means for swivellingeach group to deilect ballast either inward or outward. 7. A railwayroadbed 'broom device according to claim 3,

each blade being carried on a vertical swivel trunnion, control arms onsaid trunnions, means linking the control arms of a group of blades forcommon actuation, and means for actuating the interconnected arms i tosimultaneously swivel the blades of the group. J8. A railway roadbedbroom device according to claim 3,

with the addition of power means for shifting the swivel positions ofthe blades, a control station for operating the broom along the roadway,and a control at said station for actuating said power means during suchoperation of the broom along the roadway.

9. A railway roadbed broom device according to claim 3, theswivel-mounted blades being individually mounted on vertical trunnionsrotatably mounted in the frames, and each such blade including a bladeportion depending from a horizontal hinge connection, and tilt barsfixed to the frame in position to be engaged by said depending bladeportions as they are swivelled about the trunnion axes, and to tilt suchblade portions to inclined positions as the blades reach fully swivelledpositions.

10. A railway roadbed broom device according to claim 3,

in which the blades are mounted for both swivel movement about verticalaxes and for swinging movement about horizontal axes,

and means to swing the blades to oppositely inclined positions as theyare swivelled to oppositely angled positions.

11. A railway roadbed broom device according to claim 3,

in which the blades in their respective angled limit positions areoppositely inclined to deiiect ballast laterally with an upwardcomponent of movement.

12. A railway roadbed broom device, comprising an elongated frame havingfirst and second longitudinal frame structures spaced from each otherand interconnected at their ends by frame end members,

a cover arched between said longitudinal `frame structures to form abroom housing,

a rotary broom mounted for rotation on a longitudinal axis in saidhousing between said longitudinal frame structures for sweepingengagement with an underlying roadbed or other ground surface,

means to drive said broom in either direction of rotation to sweepballast or like .material on said surface and throw such materialforwardly from the rotating broom,

each of said longitudinal frame structures supporting a bank ofdeflector blades in position to be struck by loose ballast thrown towardthem by the broom and to deflect such ballast laterally,

Vand means for supporting said device with its said frame structures andbroom extending transversely across a railway roadbed, for movementalong the roadbed to sweep the same.

13. A railway roadbed broom device as -in claim 12 further comprisinghousing means including a rigid deflecting wall extending longitudinallyof each longitudinal frame structure on the opposite side of its bank ofdeilecting blades from the broom, spaced from such blades, and extendingover substantially the full height thereof, such wall being therebydisposed to be struck by ballast deflected by the blades and to deflectthe same an additional distance laterally of the roadbed being swept.

14. A railway roadbed device as in claim y12 in which the deflectorblades of such ban-ks are individually earried by vertical trunnionsmounted in their supporting longitudinal frame structures,

and means to swivel said trunnions to dispose the blades in oppositedeecting angular positions.

15. In combination, a wheeled vehicle adapted to be propelled along arailway roadbed,

a railway broom device as defined in claim 14 supported transversely ofsaid vehicle `at an end thereof so that the broom is at the trailing endof the vehicle when it moves in one direction,

ballast working means carried by the vehicle in a position ahead of thebroom in such direction of movement,

such Working means, in operation, leaving a deposit of ballast onselectively diierent areas of the roadbed, and such broom deviceextending across the roadbed in position to sweep such areas,

the broom being operable in a direction to act on the ballast `depositedby such working means and the deflecting blades being adjustable todeect ballast in either direction transversely of the roadbed.

16. A railway roadbed broom device as in claim 12 further comprisingsaid means for supporting said frame comprising a releasable connectionon one of said longitudinal frame structures for positioning the broomdevice in transverse sweeping position,

a pair of road wheels for supporting the broom device for road travel,

means for positioning such road wheels to support one end of said `framefor longitudinal travel,

and hitch means at the opposite end of the frame for hitching the deviceto a vehicle as a trailer for road travel.

17. In combination with a road-rail vehicle, a broom device as set forthin claim 16,

a head block on said vehicle having vertically movable mounting meansincluding a releasable connection for engagement with the releasableconnection on said broom device frame,

said mounting means being operable to move said broom device between alowered operating position and an elevated position for maneuvering onand off a railway roadbed and to support the frame for operativelypositioning the said pair of road wheels.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Dangremond et al. 15-55 Kershaw15-55 Kershaw 15-55 Kershaw 15-55 X Kershaw 37-104 Moss 37-104 X U.S.Cl. X.R.

